We had the privilege of going through Barbara Mouser’s 5 Aspects of Biblical Womanhood for the last several months and just recently finished the second part of the study. It was an extremely deep and fruitful study and we definitely recommend it to any Christian woman- no matter the stage of life! We wanted to summarize a few of the key points as well as our key takeaways, and we pray it will bless you!
The 5 Aspects are:
- Mistress of the Domain
- Helper-Completer
- Lifegiver
- Lady of Wisdom
- Glory of Man
Mistress of the Domain: Genesis 1:27, “And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” God made both man and woman in His image and gave them the responsibility to rule over the earth (Genesis 1:28). To “take dominion” is not a recommendation but a clear order from God. Barbara states, “Women need to see themselves as rulers in the image of God, responsible for the domains God has given them.” Understanding what that “domain” is, is broad yet critically important to understand.
Helper-Completer: Genesis 2:18, “It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him, completing him.” Woman was made from a person for a person and man was made from earth for the earth. Barbara summarizes this point best, “We see woman as the final crown of creation and the indispensable complement of man. Woman’s propensity for and facility with the personal is fundamental to her created being and purpose.” Understanding this truth is essential to a woman’s walk with the Lord, especially when it comes to marriage. When both the husband and wife are pursuing the same mission and are united, the marriage thrives.
Life-giver: Genesis 3:20, “she was the mother of all living” and although this aspect doesn’t necessarily point exclusively to child-bearing, it is important to note that fruitfulness through child bearing is an important part of God’s creation mandate. A woman can “give life” spiritually through partnering with God in resisting Satan and the common sins and temptations women fall into in our current day. Women also are uniquely gifted to give life through nurturing, hospitality, encouragement and in many other ways. Women are also clearly given the ability to physically give life through childbearing. Barbara states, “Just as temptation came to Adam through Eve, so will salvation come from Christ through Mary. As woman was the means of human defeat, so she will be the means to human victory as well.”
Lady of Wisdom: derived from the Wisdom Literature in Proverbs 1-9. Barbara views wisdom as a personification of a glorious woman who is God’s helper and companion in creation. Barbara summarizes with, “She is the reprover, teacher, and counselor of mankind, and the patron, helper, and glorifier of wise people. Folly is personified as a seductress; she deceives, enslaves, and takes her foolish victims down to death. According to Proverbs, life is a choice between these two women.” We should constantly refer back to the Proverbs to give us a picture of what a wise woman looks like and how we can implement these characteristics in our lives. It is also important for us to understand the context of the Proverbs- written by Solomon to his son. We live in a world that praises Lady Folly and views her as “empowered” when in reality, we know the Bible warns us that Lady Folly leads us (and society) into utter destruction and ultimately away from God.
Glory of Man: 1 Corinthians 11:7, “man is the glory of God and woman is the glory of man.” Although man and woman are both created in the image of God, in glory, they are different. Barbara states, “God has given different parts of His creation different splendors, different glories. One of the greatest glories of the human race is sexuality. The ultimate foundation of this glory is revealed for man and woman in marriage was Christ and His Church. It is the glory of the man to picture Christ; it is the glory of woman to picture the Church.”
Barbara goes into much greater detail with these aspects but this is our attempt to briefly summarize her key points as she evidences from God’s Word.
One of the greatest takeaways I had was the importance of viewing femininity through the entire Bible. In 1 Corinthians 10:11, Paul explains, “Now these things [Israel’s history] happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” God uses biblical narratives to show us how or how not to behave and what is or what is not honoring to Him. The culture is currently trying to minimize or completely throw out the significant differences between men and women… and unfortunately, even the church has fallen into this sin. The Bible paints a clear picture of the differences between men and women and how we are designed. Although our primary mission “zoomed out” is ultimately to glorify God, we are called specifically to fulfill this mission in one way through our “gendered piety”. In other words, there are specific ways God calls women to glorify Him, and specific ways for men to glorify Him. Of course, there are many places of cross over (such as the fruits of the spirit), but we cannot deny that scripture contains distinct commands for men and women that are manifestly different.
The sanctity of marriage and how God uses that image throughout the entire Bible is also something that really stood out to both of us. Barbara points out how often God uses the marriage analogy to illustrate not just the Gospel, but many significant principles throughout the Bible. That is why understanding the deeper meaning of marriage is absolutely necessary and why we as Christians must uphold God’s design for marriage. Marriage is not a social construct, a legal contract, or meant to be taken lightly. It was created by God and designed for a much greater purpose. God uses marriage throughout the Old Testament and New Testament to illustrate the Gospel message and His continuous mercy and grace that He gives to His people.
In the Old Testament, God uses Ezekiel 16 to illustrate Israel being His wife. The entire history of Israel is told in the metaphor of marriage and if you take the time to read that chapter, Israel was called to be God’s wife- to submit to and be loyal to Him. But, Israel committed adultery against God by looking to and worshiping other gods and nations which ultimately showed God how much the humans He created, needed their Savior, Jesus Christ!
We see in the New Testament that Christ is the new Husband and the Church is His bride- a redemption story and illustration of Israel’s adulterous acts against God being paid for by Christ and His sacrifice to the Church. Additionally, we see in Revelation, yet another image of the Bridegroom and His Bride coming together in unity and perfectly exemplifying God’s ultimate design for marriage. God uses marriage to exhibit the most important thing for us as Christians: the Gospel. May we be encouraged to view marriage in this holistic and encouraging light!
Today, many are critical of the “trad” or traditional movement sweeping across social media. Women are increasingly leaving the workplace and coming back to where God has said was their primary domain - the home. Critics say that the traditional movement is merely a “fad” or “aesthetic”. We believe that God is calling women back to the home - to serve and love their families to the best of their abilities. Our study in the Five Aspects has come in a timely fashion with this cultural movement. It is clear that God has uniquely gifted and called women to care for their homes and more importantly, the people in them. This is not something to run away from but rather to embrace. This is not a form of oppression or menial “unintellectual” activity. And of course, there will be times when babbling with your toddler might make you feel just a little silly, but that is God’s reminder for us to not take ourselves too seriously, and to love our children at every age and stage.
We will leave you with this inspiring and uplifting quote by G.K Chesterton:
"[Woman is surrounded] with very young children, who require to be taught not so much anything as everything. Babies need not to be taught a trade, but to be introduced to a world. To put the matter shortly, woman is generally shut up in a house with a human being at the time when he asks all the questions that there are, and some that there aren't...."
"[W]hen people begin to talk about this domestic duty as not merely difficult but trivial and dreary, I simply give up the question. For I cannot with the utmost energy of imagination conceive what they mean. When domesticity, for instance, is called drudgery, all the difficulty arises from a double meaning in the word. If drudgery only means dreadfully hard work, I admit the woman drudges in the home, as a man might drudge [at his work]. But if it means that the hard work is more heavy because it is trifling, colorless and of small import to the soul, then as I say, I give it up; I do not know what the words mean…. I can understand how this might exhaust the mind, but I cannot imagine how it could narrow it. How can it be a large career to tell other people's children [arithmetic], and a small career to tell one's own children about the universe? How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone, and narrow to be everything to someone? No; a woman's function is laborious, but because it is gigantic, not because it is minute. I will pity Mrs. Jones for the hugeness of her task; I will never pity her for its smallness."